*OFFICIAL* M18x Owner's Lounge Thread

best laptop? its the best computer ive ever had. meaning the least amount of problems with the most amount of pleasure .

 

Agree with both of you.

 

Thanks. I also updated my drivers from synaptics which included the Scrybe software. Although there is no scrolling menus in it. Its all in the touchpad properties. My biggest problem is two finger scrolling. Coming from the macbook pro, two finger scrolling is terrible. It literally just stops working in the middle of page or takes several swypes for it to actually scroll. Vertical scrolling on the right side works great though. That said I LOVE everything else about the m18x and I rarely use the trackpad except if traveling but I would love it if I could get two finger scrolling working better.

If anyone's two finger scrolling is working great, can you please post your touch pad settings - there are so many different things that could be interfering, ie touch sensitivity, palm sensitivity, scrolling speed etc.

 

FedEx finally delivered this beast at 8:30PM. The build quality on this thing is top notch. I haven't had a ton of time to comb through all the posts to find out what I should do first. Would you guys recommend updating all drivers or only certain ones? Also, is there a lock button for the volume up\down\wifi\etc panel? Mine seems pretty unresponsive. I have to change my volume through the volume controls in my system tray most of the time.

 

The ribbon cable for those buttons may not be attached well - it happens. As for first thing to do....for me it was reinstall windows. Alienware normally does an OK job but I prefer not having to wonder about it since ultimately I would end up reinstalling anyways I might as well save myself the hassle of installing everything else twice

 

Ok I have seen a post like this a couple times... what is the point of wasting an hour reinstalling windows?

 

So that you know what is running on your machine. This is the only way to guarantee that there will not be any driver, registry, stability, bloatware related issues. I am also a control freak and like controlling every aspect possible on my computer

 

ok guess I never had an issue out of the box. but just wondering, are you using the alienware disk to resinstall windows or did you buy a clean copy of windows?

 

You can use the alienware disk. It is just a specially printed windows install disk. It will not have the drivers though. Just the OS.

 

When I go from wall power to battery back to wall power it pops up a message to switch to discrete graphics and then restart. Is there anyway to disable this, (and so it stays in the best graphics)?

 

Thats very odd, mine doesn't do that. Maybe you have to set it to performance mode in Alien Fusion zone in Command Center?

 

are you sure there isn't any thing on there besides windows?

 

I just installed a Crucial 128GB SSD on my M18x and it works great, but when I go to Crucial's website to upgrade my firmware ( Crucial.com Product Downloads - Firmware Updates) I have no clue if I have the 7.5mm or 9mm... Any way of identifying? I still have the link from where I bought it ( http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-I...JKZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328935501&sr=8-1)

 

well i have 2 things in device manager and ive dled every thing offered to me in the downloads section..on dells web site.. im stumped

ill let the pic speak for its self..

also I installed new memory.. 16 gigs of corsair vengeance 1600 ddr3
and ive noticed a slower performance vs my 6 gigs of 1333.. any ideas?

ok here is the pick of device manager..
pics way big! but i didnt know how to resize it so you could see the device..one way was way 2 small and this way is 2 big but at least you can see it..

Spoiler

 

Mine does it too. I have only had it for 10 days but I thought it was just something inherent to the M18X.

 

When running on battery your better off turning off nvidia GPUs so you get better battery life. I get 3+ hours on mine. I only run nvidia cards when gaming or video encoding.

 

whenever you take out the plug or plug the laptop, its just some sort of warning if you want to save battery life or maximize battery life whether plugged or unplugged. i have the pop ups also, i just leave it like that if im busy encoding, and normally when i use my laptop its always on battery saving/switchable graphics mode and most of the time its unplugged, like danXbix said its a staggering 3-4 hours with minimum brightness and alienfx off.

yeah im not sure how to disable it permanently though. its only a warning, you are not mandated to select yes (oh now i remember this is the gfx) you can select cancel, but honestly it haven't bothered me much, rig is usually in battery. imo that pop up will not hinder even if you are currently using an application.

 

was on the m18 playing a game , temp no problem then all of a sudden it shutdown , tried to turn it on again but dead , thought maybe the lead was not in probably and it was batt failure , but checked battery and it was full but still would not power up , then i checked the power supply and noticed there wasnt a green light , tried another socket and nothing , so i un plugged the power cable from the laptop and tried again and it worked , then plugged in back in laptop and it went off again and still would not power up . i left it maybe a few minutes tried again and heard like a crackle sound on the right hand side at back , and then all of sudden it turned on and everything seems ok , anway i removed the fans from inside and the plastic surround under the cpu fan in one corner was a bit melted hence what the smell was , my question is what the hell happened , i am using it now and all seems as it was but concered now that sometimes i leave it on if downloading large files and dont want to end coming back to a melted lump of plastic and aluminium, there was no power surge of any kind and to be honest pretty pissed off , and not sure what i should do , any advice would be greatly appreciated as always

 

Consider yourself lucky that it turns on at all. Make a backup and call Dell ASAP!

 

I had something that sounds similar happen a while back. One of the capacitors blew out on my motherboard. It was not gaming or anything at the time, just pushed the power button to turn it on. The other symptoms (burn smell and AC adapter light turning off) were the same. It was one of the capacitors immediately behind the CPU between the display hinges. Mine never booted again. Agree with locust76 about making a backup and calling Alienware Support. (Don't call Dell Support... call 1-800-ALIENWARE.)

You might want to send a PM to AW-FedericoH to let him know about this. He works in Alienware Support and may want to capture your motherboard.

 

Thanks Guys but one problem i bought my alienware in Bahrain , through a virgin megastore outlet and getting things done here are always a nightmare ,so going to need to change out cpu etc and put it all back to standard i suppose , ok will speak to them tomoz and see what they say .
cheers guys
one thing i can not understand is that its been running now for the last hour while i am trying to back up stuff and its as it was very weird .

 

Well, something isn't right. It's odd that your system is even functional at this point. That's one thing to be glad about. Not sure what to tell you, bro.

 

Well, even though you thought you did, it appears you missed a couple, bro. Perhaps you downloaded everything, but just overlooked installing the ones that are missing. That's easy to do, since there are quite of a few drivers to install.

You probably need the free fall sensor and you don't have the correct driver installed for one of the network adapters. Are you using wired or wireless right now? Whichever network adapter you are not using needs the correct driver installed.

 

Its the Atheros network cards driver (not wifi) and probably the freefall or NEC USB 3 driver. I installed 16 gigs of corsair vengeance 1600 today and did the widows score thing and it is faster. I also ran super pi and that was a bit faster.

 

ok so i went and dl every last driver and went threw them 1 by 1 and deleted them as i went to make sure i got em all.. and now i got 1 item the second one in the picture.. unknown.. and now im stumped.. usb 3.0 installed i missed that one ..other than that its telling me ive installed every thing.. even the HD transmitter. which i dont have on my system..

also on a side note.. Ive hooked my ps3 up to my laptop and the sound some times works and then it doesn't.. some times the sound works on start up then cuts out.. and some times if i switch from hdmi in and back a few time it will work.. but then i cant switch back into windows and also the screen goes black until i hit a key? is there a sleep timer or some thing?

 

moved to the right thread...

 

Do you have the FreeFall Icon in Control pannal? On my other laptop, It showed up as Unknown when no driver was installed. I dont see the driver for it on dell's site(ST Microelectronics AccelerometerP11 = R298417)?

 

Hey guys, just recieved a new(refurbished)m18x with the following specs: i7 2820, 8 gigs 1333 ram, 750gig 7200rpm hd, dual 6970m cards, 6200 wireless card, 220 watt ps.

It came with a few issues.

A. dell self diagnostics test states battery life is done. Plus when its plugged in it always says batt is at 92% and "not charging", when I pull plug laptop goes immedietly dead.

B. Video artifacts(red dots in alot of scenes), running furmark shows only one gpu is working(while ccc states crossfire is enabled)even though it does detect both of them.

C. Some keybaord buttons stick.

Now already called up Dell and they are sending me 2 brand new video cards, crossfire cable and 2 new heatsinks. They are also sending me a new battery and keyboard no questions aked.

My big questions are as follows:

A. Could I have had a failure due to the WRONG POWER SUPPLY? 220 watts seems a bit small for an m18x that has a 45watt cpu and 2 video cards that draw around 150-180 watts under load. That right there is about 220 watts, then you have the backlit keyboard, the lcd screen, the input/output ports, optical disc drive, hd, wireless card all drawing power etc etc......? Should I be asking for a new PS?

B. Running performance test 7.0 (Passmark), I get a score of about 2231 on the CPU mark portion while pretty much all other i7 2820's are scoring in the 8000 range. Could I have a toasted cpu as well? Scores seem low.

Advice please, wondering if Dell should be sending me a new CPU and PS as well or?

 

The PSU is the wrong one for a system with dual GPU. It may not be charging the battery at all. I doubt there is anything wrong with the CPU. It may be the low output on the PSU is causing it to mess up. Your GPUs may be toast, but you will not know for sure until you have a 330W AC adapter.

You best bet is to get it exchanged for one that works right. Sounds like you got a lemon, bro. Probably why it was available for sale. If they don't go for that, they will just replace whatever they need to replace, but it might take a while if it requires multiple diagnosis.

 

The power supply I have is a 330 Watt power supply Dell Part Number XM3C3 Model DA330PM111

I would request an appropriate PS as well, 220 Watt is too little.

 

The model # of the PS I got is: GA240PE1-00 is this the wrong one? DPN: J211H

 

I can't tell you based off the numbers, but if it's not 330 Watt, then it's definitely wrong. If it doesn't state directly on the power supply, you can calculate Watts by taking the output voltage (19.5V with mine) multiplied by the output amperage (16.9A). The result is the wattage value of the power supply.

 

Mine shows Dell P/N XM3C3. Boot into BIOS and see what output on PSU is detected. Sounds like you got the wrong PSU and that seems to happen fairly often on refurb systems. They seem to pay even less attention to details on refurbs than they do the new systems, which is sort of scary since the new systems have quality control issues as well.

 

Output is 19.5 volts and 12.3 amps, so 240 watts roughly........

 

Yup, wrong PSU. That could be causing some of your other problems as well.

 

Well the battery and keyboard without question are toast(Battery has 93% charge, but when i unplug comp just flat out goes dead)and at least one of the 6970m's are as well. But Ill call Dell first thing in the morning to get straightened out the PS or any other potential repairs due to wrong PS.

Can an under powered PS do actual damage to the components or is there some type of fail safe built in etc to throttle things back?

 

Question on a monitor. I bought a HP 2511x and it works great, but it's very underwhelming. I'm looking at better ones like the Dell u2711 or U3011 now. Does anyone have those and/or more importantly there is no reason why the m18x wouldn't be able to drive those right?

Thanks.

 

I don't think so. Just doesn't have enough power to drive the dual GPU setup.​

I know that steviejones133 has a Dell U2410 and is happy with it based on things he has shared here on the forum. The M18x can easily drive a 27" or 30" monitor or LCD TV that large or larger. Dell UltraSharp monitors are awesome if your prepared to pay the price they want for them.​

 

I am using a 35" tv and a 27" monitor. not a problem with either of them.

 

Thanks! I ordered the u3011. Can't wait to see it!

 

Indeed I do Brother Fox!

I am sure you will be VERY hapy with the "big brother" to mine - actually, even more so due to the higher resolution.....the panel is, IMHO, amazing and it blows the internal screen outta the water without a shadow of a doubt. Connectivity is also very good as is standard 3 yr warranty......we all love warranty don't we?

All in all, a great monitor which I am sure will give you hours of enjoyment.

 

So I ordered my M18x on Jan 31st. I am currently deployed and am sending it back home for my friend to hold on to it till I get back. I did not want the sand to get in it and ruin it. Whenever I get back to my tent after work all I do is keep looking at these forums and youtube videos finding out as much info as possible. I have bought quite a few things to go with it. Being deployed and bored on your day off makes you want to buy stuff haha! Anyway, I went with the 2960XM OC 4.0 (should have OC'd it on my own and saved money), Dual GTX 580 SLI, 8GB 1600 RAM (8GB HyperX 1866 on the way), Blu Ray, Killer 1103, 256GB SSD (did not realize it only goes 3gb/sec) going to upgrade it later. I built it through AAFES and saved over $700 and they even threw in a free Razer Mamba 2012. I know the R2 is coming out later this year, but I like this setup a lot and I could not beat the price. Just need to get home to play with my new toys!!

 

Congratulations on your system - killer setup!.....actually, about the SSD speed - I'm not sure if it is across the board for Dell (depending on country, maybe) but my system shipped with Sata III 6gbp/s drives - PM830's which is just the OEM version of the Retail Samsung 830 series SSD's......you may end up with one of those......hopefully!

 

hi guys...

looking for a bit of guidance.... i have spent approx 1 month reading the forums for a general overview of which laptop to get for gaming.... in the end i choose...

alienware m18x r1 - 2760ghz I7, 8g ram 1600mhz, dual gtx580 sli, 500g hybrid drive.... oh and also got an orion m18 backpack....

i have just recieved it on friday, still in its box just not had chance to have a play yet... just a couple of questions...

like i said i got the machine to play games like, bf3, mw3, skyrim etc.... im not sure what drivers bios etc i need to get the best out of the machine as in performance... i also have an 120g ssd to go in at some time but im not sure what i need to do to clone or reinstall....

im dont want to push the laptop to the max to get a good gaming experience from it just good fps and highest detail possible....

any advice welcome...

thanks

Ian

 

install latest beta nvidia drivers (since they havent released a WHQL driver in centuries)

and you should be able to clone your HDD to the SSD. then use your HDD either as a firmware updater HDD, or erase it and make it into a data drive.

you dont need to overclock to max anything out. that rig will make any game out except Metro 2033/BF3 Online.

 

That would be awesome if it did. My receipt shows 3 Gb/s on the drive. I guess i will find out when I get home. I am so excited about getting my hands on this beast of a machine!

 

Awesome!! Thanks, can't wait

Totally just out of curiosity...aside from gaming, is there much of a real world improvement for say the 2860QM or the 2960XM over the 2670QM?

 

Unless you do things that are cpu intensive i.e. video editing or what have you, than no you won't notice it maybe fractions of a second here and there. Otherwise you just have a ridiculous benching laptop.

 

Hi mate

Thanks alot for the info...

Why is there problems with bf3 online, I play that alot..

Thanks alot

Ian

 

And even for video editing, you have to do a lot of it to see some decent time gains.